Nordic Orchestra Conference 2026

We are pleased to invite you to this year’s Nordic Orchestra Conference. The conference is hosted by Kilden Arts Center in collaboration with the Association of Norwegian Theaters and Orchestras.

Dates:Wednesday, September 23 – Friday,^{September 25}, 2026, from lunch to lunch
Venue:Kilden Arts Center, Kristiansand, Norway
Hotel:Rooms have been reserved at Clarion Hotel Ernst.
Book a hotel room here for NOK 977 per nightbefore May 21 to guarantee a room at this price.

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION HERE
Fee:580 EUR (registration deadline: August 15)
Early Bird Fee: 495EUR (new deadline: May 29)

Wednesday, September 23

11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Registration and coffee

12:00–13:00 Lunch

1:00–1:15 p.m. Welcome
Pål Svendsberget, Managing Director, Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra

1:15 PM–4:30 PM The Nordic Region Today – Part 1

• 1:15–1:45 p.m. Culture shapes the future of the Nordics:
  Kristin Danielsen, Chief Executive, The Nordic Culture Fund

Presentation of this year’s collaborative project between the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra andKunstsilo. The session begins in the concert hall and concludes in the S-lab at Kunstsilo.

3:30–5:00 p.m. Inclusion, Diversity, and Mental Health

• 3:30–4:05 p.m.Kilden : The Concert Hall as an Extended Therapeutic Space:
  Marie T. Sørensen (Head of Communications, Kilden), Audhild Wessman (Kilden), Anette Olsen, Head of the Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health (Sørlandet Hospital), Eva Mari Andreassen (Research Lead, Kilden
• 16:05–16:30 Case studies from Nordic countries
• 4:30–5:00 p.m. “Marketplace” and networking

5:00–5:30 p.m. KildenDigital Initiative – Tour and presentation
Øystein Nerland Flemmen, Producer, and David Holme, Media Producer, Kilden
Presentation in the concert hall on the technical aspects ofthe Nordic Art Symphony. This will be followed by an introduction to Kilden its work with care centers, as well as a tour of the studio.

7:00 p.m. Aperitif

7:30 p.m. Conference dinner,Frihavn Restaurant, Kilden

Thursday, September 24

8:30–9:00 a.m. Coffee

9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. The Voice of the Art Institution – Part 1

• 9:00–9:30 a.m.The Role of Orchestras in War and Peace: Music as Preparedness
  (speaker to be announced)
• 9:30–10:00 a.m.Programming, Public Responsibility, and Institutional Resilience
  Keynote byJesus Herrera, Artistic Director of the London Philharmonic Orchestra
• 10:00–10:30Programming in a Time of Major Change
  (speaker to be announced)
• 10:30–11:00 Break
• 11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Group work followed by a plenary session

11:00 a.m.–12:00p.m.Parallelsession: communications

12:00–13:00 Lunch

1:00 p.m.–2:20 p.m. The Nordic Region Today – Part 2

• 1:00–1:30 p.m.Reframing Nordic Identity: Frank Jørstad, Artistic and Managing Director,Kvääniteatteri
• 1:30–2:00 p.m. From Words to Action – Reconciliation Work in the Nordic Region (speaker to be announced)
• 2:00–2:20 p.m. Panel Discussion: Nordic Perspectives

2:20–2:40 p.m. Break

2:40–2:55 p.m. Artistic interlude

2:55–3:20 p.m. The Voice of the Art Institution – Part 2

Institutions in Changing Times
Marte Cecilie Wilhelmsen Solheim, Vice-Rector for Innovation and
Society, University of Stavanger

15:20–15:30 Pre-concert talk
Pål Svendsberget, Managing Director, Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra

5:30–7:30 p.m. Dinner

8:00 p.m. Concert:Still Life – A Nordic Art Symphony Project
Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra, Eivind Gullberg-Jensen, conductor,
Mari Eriksmoen, soprano

Friday, September 25

9:30–10:00 Coffee

10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. The Nordic Region Today: Collaboration and Communication

• 10:00–10:05 Branding video from the Norwegian Orchestra Network for Marketing and Communications
  Pål Svendsberget
• 10:05–10:35 Group work:Collaboration between institutions – Who loses and who wins?
  Using reflection starters from the reflection booklet. We collect data from various ticketing systems for co-productions and present our findings.
• 10:35–11:00Collaboration or competition?
  Eivind Gullberg-Jensen, Artistic Director of the Bergen National Opera
• 11:00–11:30Collaboration in the Nordic Region: Examples
• 11:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Panel Discussion:Nordic Perspectives on Collaboration
  What are the benefits, what are the challenges, and what are the criteria for success?

12:00–13:00 Lunch